


Making Memories

by WasteNoTime



Category: Glee
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-04-09
Updated: 2014-04-19
Packaged: 2018-01-18 19:17:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 9,574
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1439773
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WasteNoTime/pseuds/WasteNoTime
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The boys have a sleepover with Cooper. Blaine is excited about spending time with his nephew, Puck is happy to get out of his house, and Kurt is a wreck because he is meeting his boyfriend’s family for the first time. <br/>Set in With No Moonlight ‘verse.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

"Blisters, the pain, the horror!"

"Kill me now..."

"Quit being babies, only a couple more stores left..."

* * *

“Urgh, I’m so tired…”

“No shit, dude. We’ve been walking around for _hours_ …”

“One more store and we are done…”

* * *

“Don’t you think we have enough already?..”

“I can’t believe I agreed to this…”

“I think there was a ‘Toys R Us’ somewhere here…”

* * *

“I don’t think I can carry any more bags…”

“Remember when you lived on the streets and life was much easier?..”

“Aww, this is the prettiest tea party set I’ve ever seen! I must get it for him…”

* * *

Kurt was having a blast. This couldn’t have been said about Blaine and Puck who were tagging along in the shopping centre looking around for presents for Blaine’s nephew, Cooper. It was Friday already and they didn’t have much time before the promised sleepover with the kid, so Kurt insisted on visiting countless shops that sold all kinds of stuff for children in one go.

Blaine had been ecstatic about the trip at first, since it was the first time he got to walk around the town freely but soon he experienced what he had only heard of before – Kurt was horrible to shop with. He had no idea why Puck agreed to go with them since he had known firsthand how crazy Kurt became with a wallet full of money and less than willing baggage carriers.

Puck didn’t even know what half those things were but soon he and Blaine began having the time of their lives, playing with as many toys as they could, pushing the buttons and laughing as the shrill music filled the store, much to Kurt and other shoppers’ annoyance.

And if Puck bought a new model train out of this trip, Kurt didn’t have to know. Not to mention it would ruin his reputation as the resident badass. Puck had bribed Blaine with cookies and a promise of building the train together to keep him quiet.

Once they got home, Blaine and Puck took a full hour to regain the feeling in their feet, while Kurt fussed over the presents, even rewrapping some of them. Blaine smiled at the sight of the boy concentrating heavily on the bow on the wrapping so it would be placed right in the middle. He was also happy that Kurt let him pick some toys for his nephew and pay for them. He had forgotten the feeling; what it was like to own something, to buy something from a nice store for someone dear. He hoped that Cooper would appreciate the plush snake that had bells on its tail that rang whenever the toy was moved. Puck might have annoyed Kurt by shaking it tirelessly in front of the boy so Blaine simply had to get it in order to have a teeny tiny revenge for torturing him and Puck. He had to admit he wasn't being the best boyfriend in that moment but it was satisfactory seeing Kurt’s little frown when he saw him buying the toy.

Kurt was making a pink bow tie for the snake when Blaine couldn't take it anymore.

"Kurt, don’t you think it's a little bit too much?" he asked carefully.

"What do you mean?" Kurt asked cutting the thread that was driving him crazy.

"I'm sure Cooper will love the gifts no matter the wrapping."

"You don't know it," Kurt retorted. "If he doesn't like the presents then he's going to hate me. And I don't want your nephew to hate me so I'll wrap the gifts however I want, okay? I'm not asking you to help me."

"Chill, princess," Puck stared at him with wide eyes.

"You are not meeting your boyfriend's family tomorrow so shut up," Kurt said finally revealing what was really bothering him. "I don’t think I should come. I’ll probably break Cassandra's favourite vase or sit on Cooper's pet hamster or something," he said, wiping away some angry tears.

"Come on, Kurt. I'm sure they're going to love you so much. You stayed with me and took care of me in less than ideal circumstances,” Blaine tried to comfort him, but couldn't help the dark look that crossed his face, "so they're not going to judge you by a piece of wrapped paper. I’d love to introduce you as my boyfriend, so please...will you give me the honor?"

A heavy silence fell over the room as Kurt considered the words Blaine said. He finally smiled, offering a tiny nod.

"Do you want me to break Cassandra's favourite vase? That way she'll hate _me_ instead,” Puck asked, causing the boys to snort and the mood to lighten.

Puck ended up staying for dinner, claiming he was too sore to drive to his house, but Kurt knew better. It was because of the lasagna he’d made earlier.

When they got ready for bed, Blaine squeezed Kurt’s hand, effectively calming down his nerves and blocking the need to go on an emergency trip to a toy store or recheck the present wrappings.

"Stop worrying and get some sleep, alright?" Blaine said softly and kissed Kurt’s forehead as soon as the other boy was settled in bed. "Everything will be fine tomorrow. More than fine."

Blaine had to admit, he was pretty nervous himself. He hadn’t seen Cassandra for a long time and it was nerve wrecking to be around her again after believing she wanted him dead. Not to mention spending time with his nephew he had only met once. He was afraid to mess up so badly that Cassie would change her mind and wouldn’t allow him to see her son anymore. But despite his worries, he had to be strong for Kurt.

"I know, I know. I’m just being irrational about this but I want everything to be perfect. And it's," Kurt hesitated for a second, "it's distracting me from thoughts about... Karofsky."

“Oh, Kurt...” Blaine sighed sympathetically. “He can’t hurt you anymore. You are safe,” he said, lacing their fingers together.

“I know,” Kurt said and ran his thumb over Blaine’s hand. “You know... there are other ways to distract me.”

“Oh yeah?” Blaine grinned at his the change of his tone.

“Yeah,” Kurt said and licked his lips. “Much better ways,” he said and pulled Blaine on top of himself.

“Ouch,” Blaine hissed, “I’m still all sore after the day at the Zizes’...”

Kurt blushed at his own enthusiasm. “I’m sorry, I just really couldn’t wait to kiss you now that I’m allowed to,” he said and pecked his boyfriend’s lips.

Blaine smiled at him and slowly positioned himself more comfortably. “Much better. Now, where were we?” he asked smiling mischievously.

“I think you were about to kiss me.”

“I think I was,” Blaine laughed and finally their lips met for a soft sweet kiss.

It made Blaine feel as if he was in heaven. He closed his eyes and forgot all the worries in the world. Nothing else existed except for him, Kurt, and their beautiful newly-formed relationship. Nothing could ruin the moment. Nothing, except for a hard bite on his bottom lip.

“Ouch!” he yelled.

“I didn’t get anything for Cassandra!” Kurt said in horror, his eyes turning round. “Oh shit, shit, shit... I bought so many things for Cooper but I totally forgot his mother, your sister-in-law!”

Blaine brought his fingers to his mouth to check for blood but found none. “I’m sure she doesn’t expect anything anyway. She will be happy with what you got for her son.”

Kurt shook his head violently. “No, I have to get her something. What does she like?”

Blaine thought for a moment. “Well, she likes boys who save her brother-in-law’s life from time to time. And also, boys who don’t try to draw blood from my lips.”

“I-” Kurt looked at him confused before he caught up. “Oh shit, I’m so sorry. Does it hurt?”

“You could kiss it better,” Blaine puckered his lips.

“But I-”

“We will go to a store first thing in the morning and get her something, alright? There is nothing you can do at this hour anyway. Now, let’s spend the evening kissing and enjoying each other’s company.”

So that's what they did. They kissed until they were both too sleepy to move their lips. They stopped only when Burt "accidentally" entered the bedroom, twice.

They both slept peacefully, together at Kurt’s request, the nightmares of unwanted kisses and homeless wanderings no longer haunting them.

The next morning, Kurt woke the entire Hummel and Puckerman household bright and early. He took his time to choose both his and Blaine’s outfits, also planning over the phone what Puck should wear, "nothing with spikes," he ordered. He also ran to a store frantically looking for a present for Cassie.

When they got out of the city, Blaine switched places with Kurt so he was the one behind the wheel this time. He tried driving extra carefully so he wouldn’t get pulled over. He appreciated Kurt letting him drive his Navigator and enjoyed feeling the breeze of the cool wind blowing in his hair.

They spent the entire drive singing along to every song they heard on the radio, so they were surprised how quickly the time passed when they reached the house. Kurt and Blaine rang the bell together, their hands clasped to give each other comfort. They heard someone running to the door and were bombarded by a mop of curly hair and sticky fingers pulling them down for a bone crushing hug.

"Unc'e B'aine!" Cooper yelled excitedly in his ear. “You came!"

Cooper threw himself at Blaine, locking his legs behind his and hugging him tightly, so that he clung to Blaine’s legs like a koala. The action caused the teen to stumble under the weight.

When Blaine finally made Cooper let go of him and hugged him instead, Cooper didn’t stay still. He leaned forward and grabbed Kurt’s hand tightly, even though they weren't properly introduced.

Cassandra soon appeared, talking breathlessly.

"Cooper, what did I tell you about opening the front door without your mommy? “

“That I shouldn’t?” Cooper replied. “But this is Unc’e B’aine, mommy. He’s not going to steal me away or eat me. Like that scary mister,” he pointed at Puck.

Kurt and Blaine suppressed a giggle. Cassandra shot them apologetic looks and then noticed Blaine struggling to keep her son upright.

“Did you wash your hands after eating your peanut butter?” Cassandra scolded, taking Cooper out of Blaine’s hands and scrubbing Cooper’s hands clean.

“Hello, Cassandra,” Kurt said formally, presenting a wrapped gift to her. “I’m Kurt. Blaine’s...” he hesitated, but Blaine grabbed his hand and so he added, “Blaine’s boyfriend.”

Blaine smiled at him proudly.

“Hey, Cooper, do you want to come to the car and bring in your presents?” Puck asked, after nodding once at Cassie. “Not going to steal or eat him,” he mouthed.

“P’esents!” Cooper yelled and wiggled out of Cassandra’s grip, his reluctance to Puck soon forgotten as he followed him outside.

“Oh, you guys. You didn’t have to get us anything,” Cassie blushed, playing with the little card on the corner of her present. She opened the wrapping carefully and gasped, “a lamp. Just what I needed,” she smiled gratefully and Kurt laughed giddily in relief.

“Mommy, mommy. Look!” came Cooper’s shrill voice, followed by the boy covered in torn up papers.

Blaine heard Kurt’s loud gasp and snickered, thinking that Cooper probably didn’t care about the wrapping as much as Kurt did, not appreciating all the time he’d spent arranging the patterns of the paper with the toy inside.

Cooper shook the rattle snake madly and ran around the living room. Within ten minutes, everyone was going nearly deaf...or mental.

“Let’s go to the kitchen, guys. Cooper hasn’t finished his breakfast yet,” Cassandra yelled over the noise.

“I was making peanut butter and cheese rolls,” Cooper explained proudly. “You take a piece of cheese and then take some peanut butter, and then you roll them in your hands. I’ll teach you.”

The boys looked at Cassie questioningly but she just shook her head tiredly. “Let’s go, I’ll make something edible.”

“We aren’t hungry, we had breakfast before leaving,” Blaine hurried to tell her.

“Speak for yourself, curly, I’m always hungry,” Puck followed the woman happily.

“He just tore it apart,” Kurt whispered dramatically when they were left alone in the living room. “I can’t believe it... I spent the whole evening wrapping the gifts and it was all gone in seconds! That adorable tiny copy of yours is just....urgh...”

Blaine laughed whole-heartedly. From the first moments it was obvious that Kurt was enjoying Cooper’s shenanigans. He might have complained when the boy tugged his hair too hard and when he wiped his dirty hands on his scarf and also when he immediately broke one of the cups from the tea party set but the smile he secretly wore whenever he glanced at the kid gave him away. Cooper’s instant liking in Kurt also contributed heavily to Blaine’s happiness. His two families were merging into one.

They entered the kitchen and saw Cooper teaching Puck how to prepare his invention.

"Then you pour honey on bread and put the rolls inside," he explained and clapped his hands when Puck took an experimental bite of it.

"That's surprisingly good,” he exclaimed with mouth still full, making the others gag in disgust.

When Kurt noticed Cassandra yawning for the third time in a row, he put a soothing hand on her shoulder.

“Why don’t you get out of the house? Cooper knows us now. We got this. You could go have a “me” day.”

“Well... I’ve been wanting to visit the spa for a while now,” she hesitated.

“Then do that,” Blaine heard the conversation and interjected.

"I feel bad about this. You’re my guests. I should stay..."

"I'm sure we'll be fine," Blaine assured her. "Right, guys?”

"Of course. You go and have fun. I know that being a single parent isn't exactly the most relaxing job," Kurt added.

Cassie looked at her son and faltered. "Maybe I should stay. What if Cooper gets hungry? Or the house catches fire? Oh my goodness, what if his grandparents, your parents, decide to visit?” she asked, looking at Blaine, panic colouring her voice.

"We'll feed him," Puck reassured.

"We'll extinguish the fire," Blaine provided but then his voice broke and he looked down.

"And I'll hide these two," Kurt said pointing at Blaine and Puck, "and tell the Andersons I'm your new babysitter."

They continued persuading Cassandra for some time until she agreed to go.

When they heard the door close, Cooper jumped up on the table and yelled, "it’s bi’thday time."

"What? Why?" Puck looked at the boy surprised. "I didn't know it was your birthday..."

"It's not but you b'ought p'esents and you didn't come to my birthday pa'ty so we will have a pa'ty now," Cooper explained rolling his eyes as if it was clear as day. "We need many balloons. I think mommy has them somewhere. Let's look," he said extending his arms towards Puck, making grabby hands. "Carry me," he ordered.

Puck took Cooper in his arms hesitantly and the boy told him to go upstairs.

"We'll join you in a minute," Kurt said, glancing at Blaine.

"Don't make out for too long. Apparently we have a party to arrange," Puck warned them as they left the kitchen.

The last thing the boys heard was Cooper asking Puck what make out meant.

"Are you okay?" Kurt broke the silence looking at the other boy who was looking through the window but his gaze was frozen so Kurt guessed that he didn't really see anything.

"What?" Blaine asked finally looking up at him.

"I asked if you were okay. You didn’t look like yourself from the moment Cassie mentioned your parents..."

"Why couldn't have we been a normal family?" Blaine asked angrily in a raised voice, turning around and looking at the painting that was on the refrigerator, held by magnets. Kurt could see a simple drawing of a child and a mom in a house and a male figure, probably portraying a dad, was drawn up in the sky. His eyes filled with tears as he remembered drawing something like this himself every time his teachers wanted the class to draw their families.

He moved closer to Blaine, putting his arms around his waist and leaning his head on Blaine’s shoulder.

“Talk to me, please.”

“What’s the use? It’s not going to fix anything,” Blaine replied, his breath hitching in his throat, and he pulled away from Kurt’s embrace.

“You know, with you and your dad I finally felt like I had a family, which I couldn’t say about my life with my own parents. I distinctively remember countless ignored Christmases, or that one time I had to take care of myself when I got sick because no one was around. No one cared,” Blaine said, helplessness in his voice.

“But they’re still your parents. Surely they did care, at least a little bit...” Kurt mused, feeling lost. It did hurt when Blaine pulled away but he couldn’t blame him. He knew his boyfriend needed space for a while.

“Well, I’m sorry to disappoint you,” Blaine laughed humorlessly, “but does _this_ ,” he held his arm up, showing the slave tattoo, “look like something caring parents would do? They made me feel worthless. And only because I was wired to love a boy. You know, I used to believe that there _was_ something wrong with me and they were right about me. Well, until I met you.

I’m so angry at them. They abandoned me because they were too stubborn to see over their prejudice. I had to learn how to survive on my own.

But you know what keeps me going? That finally I have a family, a real family. And to get there I only had to live on the streets for over a year and almost die," Blaine laughed again. "And now I have you so it's been worth suffering."

"Where are you going with this?" Kurt asked with worry, Blaine’s scattered talk making him confused.

"I don’t know," Blaine sighed. "I have so many thoughts and emotions that I can't even put them in order. Everything is trying to get out and I speak before I can even process it. I need a moment to breathe..."

He seemed so lost, so vulnerable that Kurt just had to try again. "Come here," he wrapped his arms around Blaine’s shoulders, pulling him into a comforting hug.

This time Blaine gladly melted into his embrace and inhaled Kurt's scent deeply. "I'm so happy you found me."

"I think we were destined to meet no matter what," Kurt said running his hand through the other boy’s curls. "Luckily we didn't take long.”

"Yeah," Blaine breathed taking a step back. He leaned closer and kissed Kurt with all the passion and desperation he had.

They were soon interrupted by Puck entering the kitchen. "I told you to not make out while I occupy your little monster," he said grabbing an apple from the counter and taking a bite of it. "We need to run to a store to get some birthday decorations."

“Sure, I think there’s a supermarket right around the corner of the street,” Blaine said, giving the approximate address.

“Wait a minute. Puck? Did you leave Cooper alone in there?” Kurt asked alarmed.

“Oops. Now that I think about it, I kinda left him with balloons and threads and a pair of scissors,” Puck muttered guiltily.

As if on cue, they heard a pop.

“You run to the store and pray that nothing has happened to him or I’ll strangle you,” Kurt threatened and saw Puck nod before Blaine dragged him into the living room where a very distressed Cooper was sitting surrounded by balloons.

“My balloon boomed,” Cooper pointed wistfully at the remaining pieces of what once was a balloon. “And I got an owie,” he cried, holding out his finger. There was a small cut on his thumb. It was barely a paper-cut but they could see a drop of blood shining on his finger.

“Hey, little fella,” Blaine said soothingly, sitting down, “don’t cry. Uncle Blaine will make it better. Now tell us, where does your mommy keep the band-aids?”

Kurt moved swiftly to the direction Cooper told them and grabbed the first-aid kit. When he came back he saw Cooper flinch when Blaine tried to inspect his finger.

“Hey, no. It’s okay. Don’t be scared. I’m not going to hurt you,” Blaine spoke to him and Cooper warily let him touch his finger.

 _He would be a good kindergarten teacher,_ Kurt thought to himself. _If only law allowed it._

However, there was something else. There was something familiar in that voice, the way Blaine said that sentence. It got Kurt confused for a second but there were more important things to care about so soon he forgot all about it.

As if approaching a frightened animal, Blaine took the disinfectant and applied some on Cooper’s finger before putting a small band-aid on the cut. Finally he dropped a soft kiss on the finger, making both Cooper and Kurt smile.

At that moment Puck entered the room, smiling victoriously.

“I brought party hats and some paper plates. I didn’t know how old little monster was so I got candles from one to eight. And some other stuff for princess to decorate the cake that Cooper insisted on baking,” he announced, showing off each item. “Now, let’s get this party started.”

 


	2. Chapter 2

“Yay!” Cooper yelled in excitement, all his tears forgotten. "The cake should be ve'y p'etty. Much p'ettier than Stephen's. His cake had sp'inkles so I want something p'ettier. Can you make something p'ettier, unc' Ku't?"

Uncle Kurt... Kurt's heart skipped a beat at how lovely it sounded. He would be damned if the cake wasn't prettier and tastier than Stephen's, whoever he was.

"Yes, little one, I will make the most amazing cake anyone has ever seen," he said already thinking of all the flavours and decorations possible. "Uncles Blaine and Noah can go decorate the living room and we can start baking."

"Who is Noah?" Cooper frowned, looking around for the fourth uncle.

"Nobody," Puck sent Kurt an angry look.

Cooper quickly forgot the name and dug into the grocery bag. "I want us all to decorate and bake. Can we?" he asked giving them puppy eyes.

"It would take too long..." Kurt hesitated.

"Please, Kurt, can we?" Blaine joined Cooper with his devilish puppy eyes. "We are having a sleepover, we have time until tomorrow. We can decorate the house, prepare some lunch, and then bake the cake for the evening. What do you say?"

Kurt looked up and saw three pairs of pleading eyes this time.

“Okay, okay. You can all bake. Quit looking at me like that,” he relented.

“Yay,” three cheers followed.

“We better start making lunch now,” he ordered, getting the boys to pay attention, “I have a feeling we’re going to be in this kitchen for a long time. Now, let’s see what we have in the fridge.”

He opened the refrigerator to find a huge supply of vegetables, with some butter and flour in the cabinet and he shuffled through his mental cookbook to find the most suitable meal given the resources.

“We’re going to make stew,” Kurt announced.

“But I don’t like stew. It tastes wei’d and it’s wate’y,” Cooper groaned and Puck nodded.

“But this isn’t just any stew. It’s ratatouille. Like the cartoon, remember? And we’re going to make dumplings and it’s going to be so delicious. It will keep you warm and give you enough energy to play.”

“I love stew,” Blaine added helpfully and that’s how Cooper was persuaded.

It usually took Kurt about half an hour to make ratatouille and the dumplings should take less than ten minutes. But, when he had to manage three kids, two of them fairly grown-up and difficult to order around, it took him about forty five minutes to prepare the ingredients.

Then after instructing the boys to clean themselves up, Kurt sighed, relieved that it was almost over. Until he remembered they still had a cake to bake after eating lunch and he almost started crying. Looking around the messy kitchen he lost all hope of Cassandra ever letting them come over again.

The ingredients were boiling lazily in the pots and with nothing better to do Kurt started cleaning up. He found bits of food wherever he looked. He was left wondering how a piece of onion ended up in the sugar-basin but due to exhaustion he decided to not even question it.

He was halfway through cleaning the floor with the broomstick he had found when the boys entered the kitchen. Cooper was wearing clean clothes while Puck and Blaine were all wet.

"The monster didn't want to wash his face," Puck explained.

"Rawr," Cooper growled and started giggling immediately. "I'm a sca'y monste', unc'e Ku’t!" he said, running to Kurt’s side and hugging his legs tightly, making a noise between a snore and a mewl.

“Oh, no. Don’t eat me,” Kurt gasped in mock-terror.

“I’m not going to eat all of you, unc’e Ku’t. Then I can’t have cake.”

“Little monster has a point, princess. He’s smart,” Puck smirked.

“Uncle Blaine is coming to save uncle Kurt from the scary monster,” Blaine said and started chasing after Cooper, letting him run around the room for a bit before picking Cooper up and spinning him around.

The whole activity did nothing for Kurt’s ever growing headache but it made his heart swell with happiness, seeing Blaine so cheerful and obviously enjoying himself.

“Okay, guys. Let’s go decorate the house. We have a birthday to plan,” he instructed, grabbing a handful of balloons and giving a couple to Puck and Blaine each.

They got busy filling every corner of the room with balloons and brought some of Cooper’s favorite toys from his room so they could attend the party too.

“Hey, Mr. Mike, these are my unc’es,” Cooper introduced them solemnly, holding a bright blue rabbit with a chewed up leg and a missing eye in his hands. They all shook hands with Mr. Mike.

Puck was holding Cooper on his shoulders to put the last bunch of balloons onto the ceiling lamp and Blaine was placing their guests onto the couch when Kurt entered the living room.

“Lunch is ready, boys, let’s go eat before we can start the party,” he said excitedly even though tiredness was obvious on his face.

“Awesome, I can’t wait to try the rat dish,” Puck exclaimed when Blaine lifted his nephew off his shoulders.

“‘at? Why are we eating ‘at?” Cooper asked in a small voice, hugging Blaine tightly.

Kurt took a deep breath before speaking. “No, Cooper, we are not going to eat rats. He was just joking. Ratatouille is a wonderful dish made of vegetables. No rats,” he repeated looking sternly at Puck, the latter for some reason looking surprised.

“Yuck, ‘ats would be better than vege...vegte... g’een stuff,” Cooper said making a disgusted face.

“You know, when your daddy and I had to eat vegetables we used to compete, who would eat with least complaining,” Blaine said carrying the boy into the kitchen. “Maybe you and uncle Puck should compete? The winner would get to choose the first game at the party. What do you say, big boy?”

Cooper thought for a second. “Okay.”

For some reason the boys wanted to eat lunch in the dining room, so they set the table and sat down there, but not before Cooper introduced them to all the family pictures on the cupboard. Kurt couldn’t help but wonder why some of the photos, especially teen Cassie and Cooper’s, looked familiar.

“Unc’es, this is my daddy,” Cooper pointed at the last picture, “I don’t remebe’ him but he’s in heaven now, watching over me. ”

They had all dabbed a stray tear away from their eyes.

“I know him, little guy. No need for introducing,” Blaine said and Kurt could hear the pain and affection in his voice.

“Are all of you my daddy’s b’others like unc’e B’aine? Do unc’es make out?” the little boy asked.

Kurt shot Puck a death glare and hurried to remove “making out” from the kid’s vocabulary before his mother found out.

Thankfully, the rest of the lunch went on with minimum arguments. Puck had found the “rat dish” surprisingly good and despite Kurt’s angry glares had a lot more than three helpings. Kurt was glad he’d saved a plate for Cassandra in the fridge.

Blaine offered to wash the dishes and Cooper had cleaned up the table as much as his tiny hands allowed.

How the rest of the guys had so much energy in them, Kurt didn’t know, but his eyes were drooping close so he allowed the boys to play a bit without him, Cooper was in the middle of teaching Blaine and Puck a made up game that had way too many jumping jacks when he excused himself and went to the guest room that Cassie had offered for him. They had insisted that they would sleep in the sleeping bags in Cooper’s room but she was just as stubborn and prepared them two guest rooms, one for Puck and one for Kurt and Blaine.

Once in the room Kurt didn’t bother to change clothes or pretty much do anything. He just dropped onto the bed, face first, and within seconds was dozing off. He could distinctly hear noises coming from downstairs but his brain could no longer separate what each noise was about. It was a bliss to finally get some rest.

“Unc’e Ku’t?” he heard a voice coming from somewhere far, far away and soon he felt someone’s presence. “Unc’e Ku’t, we need to make cake...”

 _Cake... cheesecake would be nice_ , Kurt smiled to himself as his world started shaking.

“Unc’e Ku’t,” the voice repeated and Kurt forced himself to swim back to his consciousness. He opened his heavy eyes and was met with Cooper’s cheerful face. “Oh, you’re not s’eeping. Let’s make cake.”

“Ten more minutes,” Kurt muttered.

“Is it nap time?” Cooper asked and laid down when Kurt nodded. “Let’s nap,” he announced happily and unceremoniously placed himself between Kurt’s arms.

A while later, Kurt heard another voice.

“Cooper, don’t bother Uncle Kurt,” Kurt heard someone whisper. Was it Blaine? It sounded like Blaine.

“Aww, they’re sleeping, it’s so cute I want to vomit,” Puck said in his normal volume, causing Blaine to shush him frantically.

“We should go. Come on,” Blaine said.

“Dude, you’re kidding me, right? Dealing with the monster and princess’ bossing around all day wore me out. I’m taking a nap.” he said and the bed dipped from one side.

“Might as well join,” he heard Blaine sigh. Kurt felt another weight pressing by his side and a hand snaking around his waist. He felt Cooper move, climbing on top of him so he was between him and Blaine.

 _So much for a peaceful nap_ , was his last thought before succumbing to dreamland.

That’s how Cassandra found them, cuddled in one Queen-sized bed, Puck taking half of it while the trio occupied the other half. They looked exhausted so she silently moved out of the room and closed the door shut. Having seen what their living room looked like, she knew they deserved some time to regain their energy. Besides, she knew that babysitting her baby boy was a tiring job.

The first steps echoed in the house an hour later when she was helping herself with a plate of ratatouille in the kitchen. Soon Puck entered the kitchen with his mouth wide in a yawn.

“Hi,” he said when he noticed Cassandra. “Any left for Puckerman?”

She nodded and Puck sat down with a plate of the reheated dish. “So, how was your day?” she asked him.

Puck snorted. “I didn’t know kids had that much energy. And yours is extra... energetic.”

“He gets it from his father,” Cassie smiled. “He was restless.”

“Uh-um, Blainers has told me that his brother was like an energy bomb,” Puck said with his mouth full.

Cassie placed her fork on the plate ready for a little heavier conversation. “From what I’ve heard you knew Blaine before you met Kurt, right?”

Puck’s fork stopped mid-air and his mouth remained open, displaying the contents that Cassandra sure didn’t want to see.

“Yeah, I did,” he said, his eyes looking far away, remembering that cold winter night, with Blaine shivering and looking miserable as hell.

“Is he doing better now? I mean, I know he is, I just want to know…” she struggled to find the right words.

“If Hummels treat him good?” Puck asked, slurping the remaining stew straight from the plate.

“Yes,” Cassandra sighed in relief. Not that she didn’t trust Hummels, because seeing Burt that day and now seeing Kurt had warmed her heart. It made her think that for once, she did the right thing about Blaine.

“How’s the mother treating Blaine? I haven’t seen her and Blaine didn’t mention her.”

Puck wiped his mouth with the sleeve of his shirt and continued, “Well, from what I gathered, she died about eight years ago, when Kurt was just a kid. That’s why they moved to France.”

 _France_ , Cassandra mused to herself. _So, that’s why they’re so different. But, poor Kurt._ Suddenly Kurt’s compassion for her and her kid took a new meaning. Losing his mother so early and having a single parent must have made him understand her struggle more than most people did.

“When did they come back?” she tried to question nonchalantly.

“A few months ago? I don’t know. Why?” Puck asked, squinting his eyes suspiciously.

“Just curious, don’t mind me,” Cassie smiled at him.

“Cut this crap and ask your questions straight,” the boy lost his patience. “I don’t like beating around the bush.”

Cassie looked at his determined face and decided it would be best to come clean. “Am I doing the right thing letting the Hummels keep him?”

“ _Keep_? Like some pet?” Puck raised his voice.

“No, that’s not what I meant-”

“They are not _keeping_ him, Blaine chose by himself to come back,” the boy continued as if he hadn’t heard her. They also missed steps upstairs and hushed voices. “Blaine is happy with the Hummels. You want to know their story? Fine!”

“Blaine lived on the streets starving, cold, and beaten up at least once a week. And then one day, he was beaten like never before and those assholes left him for dead. It was Kurt and papa Hummel who went looking for him. We found him and they nursed him back to life when I was already preparing myself for the worst. If it wasn’t for Hummels Blaine would be...he would be..” Puck deflated, looking down.

“Momma!” a cheerful voice sounded from the corridor. “Faster, faster, unc’e Ku’t.”

“Okay, little one. Quit messing with my hair,” Kurt laughed as they entered the kitchen and put Cooper down on the floor so he could run all the way and throw himself in his mother’s arms.

“Where is Blaine?” Puck asked.

“I don’t know. Maybe in the bathroom. He wasn’t there when I woke up,” Kurt answered.

“Mom, I have the most amazing unc’es. Today is my birthday again and we’re celeb’ating.”

“You fell for that?” Cassandra smiled at the guys. “He just gets up one day and announces that we are going to celebrate his birthday again. I think it’s his synonym for a party.”

“I know what a party is, mommy. Unc’e Puck told me. It’s where you get d’unk and make out. But, I want a bi’thday. With ‘eal cake and all of us singing happy birthday to me,” he exclaimed, clapping his hand and running around the table for no apparent reason.

He counted down today’s events, adding his own touch to display the awesomeness of the day, acting out the scenes one by one. When he told Cassandra that he had two plates of ratatouille, her eyes went wide with surprise.

“But it had no ‘ats in it, mommy,” the boy shook his head enthusiastically. “Unc’e Puck said we would eat ‘ats but it was all g’een stuff and it tasted good. And we made dum’ings but I ate lots and lots of g’een stuff so I didn’t eat them. But I will eat them because unc’e B’aine said he liked them and unc’e B’aine likes me so dum’ings must be ado’abl...abo’adl...nice like me.”

“Speaking of which...” Puck said looking at the door and they all looked up to see Blaine entering the kitchen.

He went straight to Kurt and hugged him from behind. “Good nap?” Kurt asked.

“The best,” Blaine answered. “What’s going on here?”

“I was just about to tell the guys how impressed I am by you getting Cooper to eat vegetables,” Cassandra replied. “It’s a miracle whenever he agrees to it without any complaining. And this time he actually liked them. I must be a horrible cook...”

Kurt laughed remembering how they got Cooper to eat. “Believe me, you’re not a horrible cook. Only next time you want him to eat vegetables, call Blaine and let him talk to Cooper. Blaine is wonderful with him.”

“He needs some persuasion but it’s easy when you get the hang of it,” Blaine shrugged, not used to being praised.

“I introduced them to Mike the rabbit and then to my daddy,” Cooper told happily, not realizing the tense atmosphere that settled in the room upon his words.

“Wait ‘ight here,” he ordered before running out of the room as fast as his tiny legs allowed. He came back just as quickly, cradling a picture frame and handing it to Cassandra. It was the picture of her and Cooper, his dad, as teenagers. Almost as old as the kids that were standing in front of her.

“It’s my favorite picture,” Cassie sighed, stroking the faces.

“How did you two meet?” Kurt asked gently, smiling when Blaine kissed the back of his neck.

“Well, I was working at the community centre in Westerville. You know, taking care of kids and teaching them how to sing and dance. We went to a park one day and I was counting the kids when I realized one was missing. I searched everywhere and finally found him at Blaine’s birthday party. Then Cooper and I got talking and have been together ever since,” Cassandra smiled.

“Which community centre?” Kurt asked, interested. “I remember going to one when my mom got sick. She had to go to doctor appointments in Westerville once a month but there was nobody to take care of me so they would leave me in daycare and go to the hospital. I didn’t really like it there. Kids weren’t nice.”

“Maybe you went to the centre I worked in because we did have some bullies there,” Cassie said. “They once threw this kid into the lake when we went to the park.”

Kurt’s eyes went comically wide when he heard that bit, knowing for sure she was talking about him.

“Wait a second, wasn’t it on the day of my birthday party? I remember this boy with clothes much too big for him,” Blaine cut in. “I don’t remember much but I think he said other boys had pushed him into the water.”

Cassandra thought back to the day and nodded. “Yeah, I remember giving him some clothes to change into right before he wandered off.”

“And it happened... on Blaine’s birthday?” Kurt asked in a strained voice.

Cassandra nodded and realisation hit him - he was that boy. He was about to say something but Puck was quicker.

“Holy sh... shoe!” he almost swore but stopped when Kurt and Cassandra shot him reprimanding glances. “You all met each other before!”

“What?” Blaine asked, confused.

“Well, if you geniuses get your heads out of your as...aspirins you would figure out that blondie was the one taking care of princess and then princess snuck and met curly. All that happened on curly’s birthday!”

“Mommy,” Cooper exclaimed loudly, not wanting to be left out of the adults’ conversation, “is unc’e Puck telling a fai’y tale?”

“Something like that,” Blaine answered, almost tripping over his feet and looked at Kurt as if he was seeing him for the first time.

“Did you know?” he asked and Kurt shook his head.

“Wow,” Cassandra said, clearly awestruck, “the moment you entered I thought some of your actions seemed familiar. The way you flick your hair and the way you talk is almost the same.”

“This is amazing,” Kurt said once he recovered from the shock.

“Yeah, it’s so amazing that blondie changed your diapers,” Puck interjected.

“I was seven,” Kurt protested.

“Tell us the story mommy! P’etty please,” Cooper begged, trying to catch up.

They looked at each other, silently asking who should tell their part of story first and Blaine was the one who started talking.

“Well, I only remember bits and pieces,” he admitted. “It was a horrible birthday. Mom and dad kinda abandoned us yet again so it was just me, my brother and our two slaves. My parents had invited some kids I knew and some that I didn’t know, probably trying to distract me from the fact that they weren’t there to celebrate my birthday with me.

I wasn’t having any fun so I went to help our slaves with the party preparations. That’s when I heard... a scream I think? I remember some blood as well?” he looked questioningly at Cassie.

The woman nodded. “Cooper later told me that the boy had fallen down and so you put a bandage on the wound that he had on his arm. We stayed a bit for the cake but we soon left because it was time to go back to the centre. I don’t think you came again after that, Kurt?”

“No... I think it was the last time because... well, soon my mother got worse and had to stay in the hospital. Whenever we went to Westerville with my dad afterwards, I went to see her with him,” Kurt said, sadness in his voice when he remembered her mother in the hospital gown.

“Wait, so you met Blainers’ brother? Neat,” Puck whistled.

“If it wasn’t for Kurt, I wouldn’t have met Cooper,” Cassandra said with a grateful smile.

“I remember him,” Kurt said. “He was kind and took care of me,” he smiled, looking at Blaine, “and then Cassandra came. But, she and Cooper started talking and somehow we ended up staying longer,” he said and was surprised to see a small blush on her cheeks. “Then we went to the lake and played a bit and then I crashed your birthday.”

“It was the best present,” Blaine told him warmly, squeezing his hand.

“I remember you were very much enamoured by this Kurt guy for months,” Cassandra told them with a laugh. “Every time I visited he’d ask if I brought the “pretty boy” with me,” she stage-whispered to Kurt, winking.

The room fell silent as they reminisced quietly, Kurt and Blaine struggling to remember more of their six-seven year old selves. That was an inexcusable behavior in Cooper’s book and he made an announcement happily, breaking the silence.

“Calling auntie ‘uth time!”

The boys looked at Cassandra but she just shook her head, “don’t ask. Will one of you guys help him dial the phone while I start the cake?”

“Don’t worry, Cassandra. We got this. Well, these two don’t but I do,” Kurt laughed at the face Puck pulled. “I’m sorry, Noah, but you are terrible in the kitchen. I will start with the cake and you can go call Cooper’s aunt with him. I mean, I already promised I would bake a prettier cake than some boy had and I’m about to keep my promise.”

“Unc’e B’aine can help me,”Cooper said ignoring the adults. “Come, we need to make a secret plan,” the boy whispered and pulled Blaine out of the kitchen.

“Secret plan, huh?” Puck watched them go. “I’d better join them. I’m a master of _secret_ plans.”

The boy left Cassie and Kurt laughing. “They are all ridiculous,” Kurt said fondly.

“It’s sweet,” Cassandra said and went to boil some water for coffee. “Do you want some coffee?”

“No, I’m good after taking a nap but thank you,” the boy responded and they stayed silent until Kurt gathered his courage to speak again. “You know I’m not going to hurt him, right? Blaine, I mean.”

Cassie sighed and turned around to face the boy. “I had my doubts, that’s for sure. But after I saw you together? No, I don’t think you are going to hurt him.”

“No, I’m not,” he promised solemnly, thinking of Blaine’s parents, Karofskys and all the people who had hurt Blaine. “I won’t let anybody hurt him,“ the unsaid _not even you_ wasn’t that hard to spot.

“I know,” she said, nodding to show that she got it. Cassandra knew that she had a lot of making up to do, if she wanted to look at Cooper’s, his husband’s, face ever again and not feel ashamed. She wanted to hear that she made him proud by taking care of his baby brother when they finally met in the afterlife.

“So, what kind of cake do you have in mind?” she asked, trying to lighten the tense mood.

“That depends. What kind of cake did Stephan have?” he asked and Cassandra started describing.

Kurt decided on making a house cake and let it stand upright, then decorate the roof with biscuits and the yard with gummy bears. For the house they needed two cakes, which would take about an hour each, but thankfully the kitchen oven was big enough to fit both simultaneously.

Kurt started making the batter, while Cassandra set the oven to heat up so it would be ready when it was time for the cakes to go in.

They were soon interrupted by the guys, with Blaine giving him a ‘hello’ peck that caused Cassandra to sigh happily, Puck catcall, and Cooper, after trying his best to whistle like Puck, settled on cheering, “make out! make out!”

“How was Auntie Ruth?” Cassandra asked, trying her best not to burst into a laughter.

“She was okay,” Cooper answered evasively.

“What are you three planning?” Kurt asked suspiciously, slapping Blaine’s hand away from the batter.

“Nothing,” Blaine shrugged but he couldn’t fool anyone, not since he looked away after getting asked the question. “So, anything we could help you with?”

“Actually...” Kurt said slowly taking some piece of paper off the counter, “I’ve made a list of things I need for the cake. Maybe you and Puck could take Cooper on a short trip to the store? Get him out of the house to breathe some fresh air.”

“Sure,” Blaine said licking his finger which he had managed to get into the batter at his second try. “I just... I need... I mean, I have no...”

“Take my wallet, it’s in the guest room,” Kurt hurried to help him out.

“Oh no,” Cassandra intervened. “I’m paying for the cake since it’s Cooper’s birthd... sleepover and you are our guests. And before you argue,” she said looking sternly at Kurt and Blaine, “I must say that I insist. You have given me half a day to enjoy myself so it’s the least I can do.”

The boys were about to suggest splitting the costs of the cake ingredientswhen the doorbell rang. Cooper was the first to react and ran to the door.

“He’ll be the death of me,” Cassie sighed and ran after him, managing to get the door open before Cooper did. The boys joined them in time to see a young woman hugging Cooper tightly. “Auntie ‘uth!” Cooper called enthusiastically, momentarily deafening her in the ear.

“Hey little guy. How’s my favorite nephew?”

“I’m good. Candy,” Cooper demanded holding out his hand and explained to the boys, “it’s also a t’ick or t’eat day.”

“Oh, Cooper. I’m don’t want to see you grow up even a bit,” his aunt muttered affectionately while filling his hands with candies.

“I’ll t’y,” he promised, managing to sneak one of the sweets inside his mouth before his mother confisticated them all for later.

“So, get dressed, little sis. We’re going on a hunting trip.”

“A hunting trip?” Cassandra asked, puzzled.

“Yeah, we’re going to hunt me some nice shoes for that boring and too expensive wedding I’m invited to.” Ruth told with a roll of her eyes.

“But, I have guests,” she gestured at the group gathered behind them. “Maybe we could go tomorrow?”

“Well, your son seems to think you need a “not being mommy” afternoon,” her sister replied, winking at Cooper.

“I want to have fun with my unc’es, mommy. You’re not fun.” he pouted, “Unc’e Puck let me dangle f’om the fan. You never let me do that.”

Puck choked on air. “I just let him touch it, no actual dangling,” he hurried to excuse himself.

“I saw them and Puck is telling the truth, Cooper is exaggerating,” Blaine vouched for his friend. “We had fun but safety always came first.”

“I’ll make sure to keep them on a short leash,” Kurt promised.

“If I get hu’t again then unc’e B’aine can put another sticky thingy on me,” Cooper said showing his bandaged finger. The boys had totally forgotten the accident.

Cassandra’s face drained of blood. “What happened?”

“My balloon made a boom and I hurt my finger but unc’es B’aine and Ku’t made it better,” Cooper explained. “You can leave now, mommy. We need to make cake.”

“I don’t think I should go...” Cassie squatted down to look at her son’s finger. “If anything happened again-”

“The boys know your number so they will contact you right away,” Ruth tried to calm her down. “He would have fallen on the playground last week whether you were there or not. Same for today, just because you are at home doesn’t mean Mini Cooper won’t hurt himself.”

“I can’t help but worry, okay?” Cassie said taking quick breaths.

What did it, what convinced Cassandra to finally go was little Cooper, squeezing his mother’s hand and saying in a small voice, “I’ll be al’ight, mommy. Don’t wo’y.”

Cassandra kissed the top of his son’s head, gave each of the boys a tiny nod and left the room to get ready, leaving the boys to have small talk with Ruth.

When Cassie came downstairs ready to go out some reluctance was back. “I have an idea, Coop. I was thinking that your auntie Ruth and I could stay for your birthday party. It will be more fun with more people.”

“No,” Cooper answered immediately, leaving no place for arguments. “You came to my t’ee pa’ties so you can’t stay for this one. It’s boys only.”

They all laughed and Cassie sighed defeated, her last hope gone. She left some money for the cake ingredients, with her best ‘don’t even think about it’ face, so they couldn’t do anything and nodded at her sister showing that she was ready.

“Happy bi’thday to me,” Cooper cheered when his mother closed the door, running around to the balloons and playing.

“Not now, Cooper,” Kurt said, a bit exasperated. “We have to make cake first, okay?”

“Cake,” Cooper cheered again, jumping up and down.

When they went to the kitchen, Kurt was devastated to find out they had missed the oven ring. The cakes were slightly overcooked.

“Oh, no,” Kurt exclaimed, mortified. “I can’t believe this happened.”

“Don’t be sad, unc’e Kurt. It’s beautiful,” Cooper told him dreamily, looking at the simple spongecakes in awe.

After sending Blaine and Cooper outside to go shopping, Kurt started planning how to make the house. He’d only read the recipe recently and didn’t have time to look into it in detail but he was sure he could make it. That is, if Puck, who had stayed this time to keep him company, didn’t distract him too much from what he was doing.

Kurt was putting the icing made of egg whites, sugar, and citric acid, when Puck bumped into him. He sent the boy a murderous glare since he smeared the icing on the wrong part of the cake.

“Sorry,” Puck apoligised but it didn’t make Kurt feel any better.

When they heard the front door open Kurt didn’t know if he should feel better or worse since there would be more people to distract him and yet, he hoped that the three of them would go play and leave him alone.

Blaine entered the kitchen with a bag in his hand and Cooper tightly holding onto his neck, clearly upset.

“What happened?” Kurt asked taking the bag out of Blaine’s hands so that he could hold his nephew more comfortably.

“Um... some people were... mean to me at the store so I had to explain Cooper what slavery meant,” Blaine said and they heard a sniffle coming from his neck where the kid’s face was hidden.

“Cooper, are you alright, little monster?” Puck was the one who sprung into action first.

“Hey, it’s okay. Everything is okay,” he cooed, and tried taking Cooper from Blaine and holding him snugly, but Cooper hung on, not letting go.

“They were so so mean. They said bad stuff to my unc’e B’aine and not ‘make out’ bad,” he hiccupped. “Why are people mean to him?” Cooper asked in the most broken voice.

“Come on, little fella,” Blaine said tiredly. “You’ll understand more when you grow up,” though indeed it was apparent he didn’t believe it himself. Finally, after a few unsuccessful tries, Cooper was transferred into Puck’s arms.

“We’re going to go play a bit, leave the adults to talk about the adulty things,” Puck told them before disappearing out of the room, with Cooper still softly sniffling.

“I don’t want to know,” Kurt whispered to Blaine, who was just opening his mouth to tell the full story though it was clear he felt uncomfortable doing so. So Kurt wrapped his arms around Blaine instead of asking questions, not even caring that his hands were dirty with icing.

“Are you alright?” he asked, letting his hands wander around his arms and shoulder to see if he was seriously injured.

“I’m just a little hurt...here,” Blaine gestured to his chest right above where his heart was. “It’s something when you have to kneel down to a total stranger in front of your nephew and call her ma’am and let her get in line ahead of you. It takes something from you. Something special,” he responded, his voice getting caught up in his throat. “He was so lost looking at me, having no idea why I was doing it. It was so, so... humiliating. And then he copied me and kneeled as well and I never want to see anything like that again. I don’t want him to lose his innocence at such young age.”

“I should have gone to the store instead of you,” Kurt said tearing up.

“No, Kurt, I just shouldn’t have taken Cooper with me,” Blaine sighed. “Today was so normal that I just... forgot I was a slave. I should have known something like this would happen eventually.”

“It’s not your fault you wanted to take a walk with your nephew,” Kurt said in a raised voice. “You should be able to do that without people taunting you. It’s so unfair...”

“Life is unfair,” Blaine smiled sadly. “I’ll get over it, it was just a shock because the last time I was made kneel in front of a stranger was a while ago. I’m just worried about Cooper. I hope it didn’t affect him too much.”

Right at that moment Cooper ran into the kitchen with a tiny mohawk styled on his head. “We are playing with hair, come!” he said, laughing giddily and immediately ran out.

The boys laughed. “You know, as long as I have you and my family, nobody can hurt me,” Blaine said, feeling happiness and warmth in his chest.

Kurt looked at him proudly. “I know we haven’t known each other for a long time but today... Apart from the store episode, it was an amazing day. Knowing that we had met as kids, that I actually met your brother... it makes me feel closer to you than ever before,” he said and took a deep breath before his next words. “I know it might sound silly but I think I’m falling in love with you.”

“Oh, Kurt,” Blaine smiled fondly at him and gave him a quick kiss on his lips. “I think I’m falling in love with you too.”

Kurt gave him a toothy smile and before they could kiss properly they heard some yelling upstairs.

“Come on, let’s go before Cooper cuts Puck’s mohawk off,” Blaine said and they ran upstairs to join the chaos.

Despite everything, it was one of the best days in their lives.


End file.
